Colin Munro is a hard-hitting batsman who made his first-class debut in 2006, but didn't really make a big impact in the longer form of the game till the 2011-12 season, when he scored a century and three fifties for Auckland. Next season he did even better, scoring three centuries in six innings, including a whirlwind unbeaten 269 off 252 balls against Wellington. He was rewarded with a call-up to the New Zealand squad for the tour to South Africa, and played in three Twenty20 internationals at the start of that tour. He made his Test debut soon after, in the second Test at Port Elizabeth.

Even before that breakthrough season in 2011-12, Munro had shown that he could contribute handily in Twenty20 cricket. He broke into Auckland's Twenty20 side during the 2010-11 season, and began poorly - two ducks in his first two games. But a boundary-studded, unbeaten 66 followed against Otago, which launched his season. He went on to make several handy cameos in the lead up to the HRV Cup final, finishing the season off with a vital 66-run stand with Colin de Grandhomme in the final that helped set up Auckland's triumph.

Munro, who can also bowl some effective medium-pace, represented New Zealand at the Under-19 level in the 2006 World Cup in Sri Lanka. In September 2011, he travelled to India with Auckland for the Champions League T20.ESPNcricinfo staff